Mar. 2023
Making her debut at the GBTH is C E N I T. She has been a user of Second Life since 2011 and started exhibiting her work on the platform in 2022. Her lush, blue, often ocean-themed imagery is heavily influenced by her emotions and relationships, making her friends and SL family her main subjects and source of inspiration. Below, C E N I T and I discuss how her experiences shape her work and drive her creativity.
LET ME IN, LET ME OUT opens on Mar. 25th, 1pm SLT @GBTH
Difficult Conundrum: How have your own love and relationship experiences affected your art?
C E N I T: My own love and relationships with others heavily influences my art. I was telling my sister, Ada, my favourite photos to take are the ones I am surrounded by people I love. I love capturing the moments I share with my loved ones through my own photography. I believe photography is a magical and powerful tool. It captures a moment in time we can never take back. We can use photography as a way to freeze time. Time is a precious gift and one of the greatest gifts one can give someone. When one gives you their time, they are giving you a part of their lives that they can never get back. I believe so many of us take time and our relationships with others for granted. I always appreciate all my relationships, even the not so great ones. I am thankful for the time and lessons people have given me. We need people in our lives. We need people that make us feel seen, heard, valued, and loved. If we don’t have these people in our lives, we should be that person for someone. Love is not earned, it is given. All of us are special in our own unique and magical way. Second life is a social platform and without each other we wouldn’t be where we are. I love that I can cherish those moments and pay homage to my relationships through photography.
DC: How did you decide which photos to put in the show? And how did you figure out the best way to arrange them for display?
C: When Marina invited me to share my art, I was so deeply humbled and knew I wanted to do something special. We actually delayed the opening of the exhibit by a month as I was feeling creatively stuck. I wanted my photos to communicate with each other to foreshadow the importance of communication in our own relationships with one another. My best friend and muse, Ru, is a big part of my life. She knows everything about me, and I love the love and respect we share with each other. I tell Ru all the time that she is my little diamond and as much as I want to keep her all to myself, I know I have to share her with the world so all can see her magic. I wanted my love story to be told by her. Thus, when taking the photos, I was mostly moved by feeling and intuition. I was so elated to come to the exhibit set up one day and see my vision. I am grateful to Marina, Diff, and Peri for seeing my story and helping me display it in the best way.
DC: Do you listen to music or get inspired by other types of art when you're working on your own projects? How does it influence your creative process?
C: I get inspired by nature. I love the ocean. It is so beautiful, vast, and deep. I also very much love the colour blue. It is the colour of waves, sky, and my husband’s eyes. I believe what inspires me heavily influences my creative process as I am moved by feelings. Besides photography, I really enjoy writing poetry. In a way, photography is poetry, but without words.
DC: Can you tell us a bit about how you go about taking your pictures, especially when you're trying to portray feelings and emotions rather than material things?
C: There isn’t much of a technique per se, but rather my raw feelings. I am spontaneous. If I am feeling happy or sad, my photography speaks the words I fail to say.
DC: Finally, what do you hope for the viewers to walk away with after seeing your exhibition?
C: I hope that viewers can walk away feeling that their visit was worthwhile. I hope that viewers can feel inspired and in love with the beauty that is life and our time on earth. There is much beauty in life, not only in nature, but the relationships we build with each other. We are droplets of water and only together we make up the ocean. So, let’s keep it flowing!